U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney's Office
Western District of Texas

John E. Murphy, U.S. Attorney

Dallas Man Indicted for Defrauding Federal Student Loan Program

United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced the return of a federal grand jury indictment charging 47-year-old Solomon Hobbs, Jr., (a.k.a. Virgil Clinton Powell) of Dallas, Texas, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $37,000 in student loans.

The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Austin, charges Hobbs with four counts of wire fraud, three counts of student assistance program fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of identity theft.

According to the indictment, since 2004, Hobbs developed a scheme to fraudulently obtain $37,395.05 in federal student financial aid, including $6,573.50 by using another individual's name and identifying information, from five universities in Texas including: University of Texas at Tyler, University of Texas at El Paso, University of Texas at Arlington, Midwestern State University (Wichita Falls) and Texas State University. The indictment further states that Hobbs' pattern of obtaining funds then failing out of the institutions due to his lack of attendance shows that Hobbs had no intent of using the financial aid for educational expenses.

Upon conviction, Hobbs faces up to 20 years imprisonment per wire fraud charge; up to five years imprisonment per student assistance program fraud charge; up to 15 years imprisonment on the identity theft charge; and, a mandatory two years in federal prison on the aggravated identity theft charge.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Freel is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.

An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.